The Xavier Musketeers will be down a big man for the remainder of the season, as it was reported by Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer that freshman forward Kamall Richards tore the ACL in his left knee and as a result will miss the remainder of the season. According to the report Richards suffered the injury during Friday’s practice, and an MRI revealed the tear.

Richards, a 6-foot-8 forward from Brooklyn, played in just seven games for the Musketeers this season with his most recent action coming in a December 28 game against Wake Forest. For the season Richards averaged just 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game, with Xavier’s deep front court making it difficult for him to earn minutes.

The fact that Richards played in just seven of Xavier’s 18 games means that the school will look into the possibility of his receiving a medical redshirt, thus preserving a season of eligibility. According to NCAA rules a player who’s participated in 30% or less of his team’s games could be granted a hardship waiver by either the conference (in Xavier’s case, the Big East) or the NCAA’s Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement.

With Richards having played in just seven games and the Musketeers having at the very least 14 games left to play (their 13 remaining regular season games and one Big East tournament game), he will have played in less than 30% of Xavier’s games this season. That doesn’t mean it’s a lock that Richards would receive the waiver, but he’d have a good case for one.